​Fundraising Bootcamp: From Pitch to Close

​This bootcamp is for early-stage founders who want to learn the fundraising process. You’ll get practical advice, hands-on experience, and learn from industry experts and investors. By the end of the day, you’ll have the knowledge, tools, and confidence to about what it takes to build and fundraise for a startup.

​What to Expect

​This intensive one-day bootcamp is designed to transform how you approach fundraising. You'll spend the day with seasoned founders, investors, and fundraising experts who've been in the trenches—and come out the other side with term sheets in hand.

​You'll walk away with:

• ​A solid grasp of fundraising fundamentals and what investors actually look for

• ​A compelling founder story that resonates with investors

• ​A clear, actionable 12-week fundraising roadmap

• ​Real-time feedback on your pitch from active investors

• ​Direct insights from fintech and healthtech investors on what moves the needle

​This isn't lecture-style learning. Expect interactive sessions, live pitch feedback, and honest answers to your toughest fundraising questions. Whether you're pre-seed or raising your Series A, you'll leave with concrete next steps and the confidence to execute.

​Why Attend

​Raising capital shouldn't feel like shouting into the void. Most founders waste months (or years) making avoidable mistakes—pitching the wrong investors, telling the wrong story, or simply not knowing what "good" looks like.

​This bootcamp compresses what typically takes founders months to figure out into a single, focused day. You'll learn the frameworks that work, hear directly from investors about what they're actually evaluating, and get personalized feedback on your pitch in a supportive environment where it's safe to refine and improve.

​Whether you're gearing up for your first fundraise, stuck in the middle of one, or preparing for an accelerator application—this is your chance to level up fast, learn from people who've raised millions, and connect with a community of founders on the same journey.

​Stop guessing. Start raising.

​Agenda

​10:00 - 11:15am | Fundraising Need to Know with Daniel Theobald
​
Topics Covered:

• ​Learn from Daniel Theobald, robotics OG, who worked on the Mars Rover, and had a 4.0 from MIT, founded MassRobotics accelerator, and community the Founders Guild

• ​Hear what it takes to succeed as a founder

​11:15am - 12pm | Beyond the Deck: What Actually Gets You Funded with Sara Anderson

​Topics Covered:

• ​Learn how body language is a bigger indicator of success

• ​How to build presence that’s felt, not faked

​12:00 - 12:15pm BREAK (grab your lunch)

12:15 - 1pm | AI Eats Product-Market Fit with Bret Waters

​​Topics Covered:

• ​Every startup is in a race: reach product-market fit before the money runs out. That's the game. Today, AI fundamentally changes how that race can be run. This talk explores how modern AI tools can be used to dramatically accelerate learning, iteration, and validation—giving startups a real edge in the fight for product-market fit.

​1 - 1:55pm | Building Your 12-Week Fundraising Plan with Bhuva Shakti

​​Topics Covered:

• ​12-week roadmap on what you should do week to week

• ​How to structure fundraising so you don't burn out

​1:55-2pm | 5 min Break

​2-2:30pm | Investor Panel: HealthTech Insights with Holly Uber (Moderator), David Kiewlich, Paola Torre, Mary Guan

​​Topics Covered:

• ​Discover the latest trends in health tech industry experts and investors

• ​Hear from David Kiewlich with a six-year track record of 50 of 55 company successes for members of the incubator

​2:30-3pm | Investor Panel: Fintech Insights with Prof. PK Prasanna Kumar, Arisa Chelsea Ueno (Draper Ventures), Tonya J. Long

​Topics Covered:

• ​Discover the latest trends in fintech from industry experts and investors

• ​Hear from Arisa Ueno who manages Draper University founders

​3 - 3:15pm | Funding Breakthrough Lab Alumni Q&A (15 min) 

​​Topics Covered:

• ​Who should apply for Funding Breakthrough Lab

• ​Key benefits of the program

​3:15 - 4pm | Live Pitch & Feedback with Investors (1-2 min pitches) with Kathryn Vandiver, Arisa Chelsea Ueno (Draper Ventures)

​​Topics Covered:

• ​1-Minute Pitches: Founders will present their startup in just one minute.

• ​​​​Feedback: Get helpful feedback to improve your pitch.

• ​​​​Benefits: Practice your pitch, get valuable advice, and maybe even attract interest from investors.

• ​​​​Pitch-deck review: Get hands-on help with your pitch deck

​Speakers

​Daniel Theobald is a robotics pioneer and serial entrepreneur who helped design navigation systems for NASA's Mars Rover before founding multiple robotics companies. As founder and former CEO of Vecna Robotics, he built autonomous mobile robots deployed in warehouses and hospitals worldwide. With decades of experience bridging hardware, software, and real-world applications, Daniel has been at the forefront of commercializing robotics technology. He's a sought-after advisor and speaker on robotics, automation, and deep tech, consistently pushing the boundaries of what's possible when engineering meets market need.

​Sara Anderson is the founder of Lead Out Loud and a former Uber innovation lead. She coaches founders through fundraising and works with executives at Adobe, Workday, and Gilead to develop the presence that wins rooms—before a word is spoken.

​Bret Waters has spent his entire life in Silicon Valley, largely due to its exceptional fish tacos. He currently teaches entrepreneurship at Stanford through the Continuing Studies Program, serves as an Executive Mentor at the Miller Center for Global Impact, and works privately as a 1:1 coach for startup founders.

​Previously, Bret was the Founder and CEO of three Silicon Valley software companies. He spent six years on the advisory board of the Stanford University Graduate School of Education, served as interim CEO of Stanford New Schools, and held the role of Chief Mentor at the European Innovation Academy. He earned his MBA from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University, an excellent institution with notably less impressive fish tacos.

​Dr. David Kiewlich (Ph.D.) is a serial founder and entrepreneur in biotech. With over 30 years’ experience working for industry, as well as 6 startups of his own, his background is excellently aligned with the needs and struggles of pre-commercialization startups. He founded and runs Tomorrow Biotech, which includes the Bay Area Disruptor and Startup Support Labs (BADASS Labs) a 501c3, non-profit series of biotech incubators, which has supported dozens of pre-seed through series B (and beyond) companies, as well as a startup and early-stage fund.  With a six-year track record of 50 of 55 company successes for members of the incubator, his approach to make it easier on founders has substantially changed the concept and expectations of what incubators should look like.
In addition to Tomorrow Biotech, David is also the CSO of a cell based therapy company, focused on autoimmune disease, advisor for several biotech startups and frequent public speaker advocating for increased sustainability and greater Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) in the sciences.

​Bhuva Shakti (she/her) is the founder and CEO of Wallet Max, expanding fundraising access for high-growth impact startups through a global network of executives, policy leaders, and venture investors.

​With an MBA from Columbia University and 30 years on Wall Street, Bhuva led digital transformation and risk governance at top investment banks during the financial crisis and pandemic. She serves as USA Country Director for World Business Angels Investment Forum, Chief Ethics & Culture Officer for Women in AI, and advises impact-driven businesses as a board director and TEDx speaker on economic inclusion and climate-fintech.

​Paola Torre, PhD is an entrepreneurial, multidisciplinary translational scientist with over 10 years of post-PhD experience across academia, industry, and venture investing, specializing in pathways driving fibrosis and complex diseases including IPF, cardiovascular and liver fibrosis, neurometabolic disorders, and genetic cardiomyopathies. Her work has supported both preclinical and clinical-stage programs, bridging rigorous science with therapeutic impact. Paola has evaluated hundreds of early-stage life sciences startups through leadership roles at Life Science Angels and advisory work with Berkeley SkyDeck, contributing to venture growth, diligence, and founder support. She currently serves as a Venture Partner and VC Analyst at Aquillius Ventures, where she conducts scientific and market diligence, collaborates closely with founders and executives, and helps guide investment decisions. Passionate about advancing biotech innovation, Paola is known for her ability to work across researchers, clinicians, investors, and entrepreneurs to accelerate meaningful therapeutic discovery.

​Prof. PK Prasanna Kumar dons several roles - successful serial entrepreneur, practitioner & adjunct professor. He has deep love & understanding for numbers, finances and the mathematics of growth. For over 25 years he has helped raise capital, build products, platforms; grow businesses. He is deeply respectful of talents, traditions & kind-hearted people. Managed over 150+ Hospitals, 4000 Pharmacies, 500 Health Centers, Globally. He has consistently won numerous large deals and delivered on those promises thru technology leadership & talent management with a touch of innovation at global level. Pioneered Y2k &; dotcom led growth; creation of the onsite-offshore Model, Mobile apps, Social Media Revolution. Currently leveraging the power of AI & Cloud Computing to transform Healthcare, EduTech & Marcom.

​Arisa Chelsea Ueno is an Investment Manager at Draper Ventures, investing in early-stage startups with global expansion potential.

​Born in the United States, raised in Fukuoka, Japan, and educated across Norway, the United States, and Italy, Arisa brings a rare cross-cultural perspective to venture investing. She built her operating career at globally recognized companies including Red Bull, Noom, Shopify, and StockX, working on brand growth and market entry during their earliest expansion phases in Japan.

​As Shopify’s first hire in Japan in 2017, she helped build the country’s eCommerce ecosystem, enabling thousands of cross-border businesses and contributing to an estimated $36B in economic impact and 40,000 jobs by 2020. Since 2019, she has advised startups across the US, EU, Singapore, and Japan.

​Kathryn Vandiver is an engineering executive, advisor, and investor with 30+ years of experience leading technology organizations through strategic pivots, scale-ups, and M&A-driven transformations. She has helped shape modern Identity Management and played a key role in scaling VMware vSAN into a $3.3B industry leader. Most recently, as Vice President of Engineering at Quanata, she led the company from incubation to enterprise scale, driving a data-first architectural transformation and delivering a next-generation underwriting and risk platform. Today, Kathryn serves as an Advisor at Berkeley SkyDeck, a Board Member at SheTO, an Angel Investor with the West Coast Angel Network, and Principal of Vandiver Advisors, where she supports founders and executives in leadership development and scaling high-impact teams.

​Mary Guan is a dynamic and accomplished healthcare marketing leader with over 18 years of experience in product management and marketing across biopharma, diagnostics, and medical device industries. She has a proven track record of driving highly innovative and complex global product launches across in vitro diagnostics, interventional cardiology, interventional pulmonology, and soft tissue surgery. Mary currently leads U.S. Marketing and Market Development at CMR Surgical, spearheading the U.S. product launch of the company’s robotic surgical platform. With extensive global experience spanning the U.S., China, and Europe, Mary brings a deep understanding of diverse healthcare markets and a strong international network. Based in the heart of Silicon Valley, she is passionate about advancing innovation in medtech and believes deeply in its power to improve lives worldwide.

​Tonya J. Long is a venture investor and fund operator, and Future of Work thought leader 

​with 25 years of experience leading large-scale innovation across enterprise and emerging technology ecosystems. As a technology executive, she drove the launch of 400 products to market and led over 20 M&As, translating complex technological shifts into practical strategy and organizational action.

​She is the Managing Partner of Daymaker Ventures LLC, where she designs capital structures that help early-stage companies access and deploy funding effectively, and the creator of Beyond Work, a platform exploring how AI is reshaping value, identity, and leadership in modern organizations. Tonya is also the author of AI and the New Oz, a bestselling book examining how artificial intelligence is redefining human potential and the architecture of work.

​​​​​Funding Breakthrough Lab is a San Francisco 501(c)(3) nonprofit pre-accelerator that helps founders strategize, fundraise, and grow their startups. With a mission to build a better tomorrow, we’ve created a thriving community of over 19,000+ subscribers where education, networks, and resources come together to unlock founder potential.

​We specialize in helping early-stage entrepreneurs navigate the complexities of fundraising—whether through grants, venture capital, or alternative funding paths—while championing diversity, inclusion, and authenticity.

​Founded by Natalie Pan, an engineer, community builder, and executive coach, Funding Breakthrough Lab provides the tools and support you need to move from idea to investment.

​Apply now for the next cohort and gain the credibility, connections, and confidence to secure funding for your startup: fundingbreakthroughlab.org